Have you ever wondered what happens to the contents of your skip once it's been collected? You might be surprised, read on to find out more.
MAC Skips are committed to recycling as much as possible of the waste that we collect, this is what happens after your skip is collected.
This means that when we take a full skip away, we don’t just tip the rubbish into a hole and forget about it. We separate and sort the waste in order to reuse as much as possible. The less that goes to landfill the better it is for all of us. Our recycling centres help to make the recycling process that much easier.
Whether you have had a skip or one of our roll on/offs that are supplied to domestic and commercial customers, it will be brought back to one of our transfer stations in Hinckley, Nuneaton or Coventry. On arrival it will first be taken over a weigh-bridge to determine if it is light or heavy waste.
The light waste plant is where we sort paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, green, plasterboard & metal and the heavy waste plant is for processing soil, glass, brick and rubble, both plants recycle on average 96% of the waste we collect.
About 3% of the waste we collect cannot be recycled, but rather than it going to landfill we send it out as RDF (refuse derived fuel), reducing the requirement of fossil fuels and even the ash can be used in the final product.
Of the waste that is remaining (on average 1%) that goes to landfill, this includes waste streams that require deep burial, such as treated Japanese knotweed and asbestos. Below we’ve outlined the main materials that will be separated and recycled:
Brick, Rubble & Soil
All Brick, Rubble & Soil is processed within the MAC Group. We use crushers and screeners to produce different grades of certified recycled aggregates for construction projects and recycled soil for gardeners and landscapers.
Wood
The wood collected by MAC Skips is mostly re-used in the manufacture of chipboard and fibreboard such as MDF or used to fuel biomass plants.
Green Waste
If you are planning to throw out garden waste, rest assured knowing we will recycle any biodegradable materials and it will be shredded and turned into compost.
A notable exception is Japanese knotweed which must be buried to prevent it from regrowing.
Paper, Cardboard & Plastics
The paper, cardboard & plastics are shredded or granulated and turned into recycled products.
Plasterboard
Plaster board can no longer go to landfill instead now goes to British Gypsum for re-use and manufacture of new plasterboard sheets.
Paper Materials
Any paper and card in our skips will be washed and pulped in order to ready it for being used again. The pulp will be used to make more products such as newspapers. It sounds simple and unimportant until you consider that 73% less air pollution is produced when making products with recycled paper compared to making new paper from raw materials.
Glass
Glass can be recycled time and time again. Once separated from other materials, the glass is often melted down so it can be remoulded and reused. The creation of new glass from old glass means it will always have a purpose when it is recycled.
It is important that we stop glass from going to landfill as it would remain there for a very long time without breaking down.
Metals
Any aluminium cans found in our skips will be recycled where they will go through a shredding and melting process before being turned into new cans, a process that uses only 5% of the energy that would be needed to create a new can from raw materials. Any ferrous and non-ferrous metals will be melted down at a treatment plant in order to be used to make new items.
Plastics
It is not unusual to have plastic products in the skip waste we receive. Plastic doesn’t biodegrade and if it goes to landfill it will stay there so we want to do our best to ensure all plastic items go for recycling. The plastic can then be reprocessed and made into new plastic items such as bottles.
Cable
Cable is stripped of copper before being disposed of.
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